It is legend how Kaiser-Frazer, the upstart postwar automaker established by Liberty ship builder Henry J. Kaiser and car industry veteran Joseph Frazer, challenged the establishment with their solidly built sedans, produced in the old bomber factory at Willow Run in Michigan. Most Kaisers and Frazers were rather conservative in design and so, in the aggressive seller’s market of the late 1940s and early 1950s, management sought ways to inexpensively set their product apart. One was the offering of numerous unusual colors and interior trimmings chosen by consultant Carleton Spencer, an editor for House Beautiful.

Another was the offering of a four-door Convertible Sedan. One of the very few postwar examples of this design, the Kaiser-Frazer Convertible Sedan was based upon the standard sedan body shell, complete with fixed window frames; the convertible top folded back along the tops of the windows, as on an early Rambler. Modifications to the stock sedan chassis included an X-brace to reinforce the frame and additional bracing behind the front seat, disguised under a leather “boot.”

It was an unusual but striking automobile that drew much traffic to Kaiser-Frazer showrooms, even though few copies of the model itself were sold. The Convertible Sedan was, in both Kaiser and Frazer variants, always an extremely rare car. The 1949-’50 Frazer Manhattan version was the company’s most upmarket and costly offering and saw total production of only about 69 units.

The example offered here is finished in Ocean Spray Green, an attractive subtly metallic factory hue, with matching pleated vinyl interior and fabric top. While it is missing the trim tag from its firewall, equipment includes the standard manual transmission, as well as power windows, a push-button AM radio, amber fog lights, dual spotlights on the cowl, and chrome wheel covers. At the time of cataloguing, the odometer had recorded 370 miles, likely since restoration. The car’s older restoration exhibits some age and use throughout, but would be quite suitable to further sort into a driver, at which point it is sure to be the only one like it at local cruise-ins and one of very few even at Kaiser-Frazer events.

This is simply one of the rarest American postwar convertibles and thus a surefire way to add a favorite conversation piece to one’s collection. It has dramatic flair and style to spare.